It is well known that a braking system of a vehicle generally includes a plurality of braking devices, each of which is operatively coupled to an axle of the vehicle and configured to apply a negative torque thereto (also referred to below as a “negative axle torque” or “brake torque”). These braking devices may comprise frictional braking devices (e.g., disc brakes, drum brakes, and electro-hydraulic brakes, to cite a few possibilities), regenerative braking devices (e.g., electric motors), or a combination of both. For example, a hybrid vehicle having a first and a second axle may include a pair of frictional braking devices operatively coupled to the first axle, a pair of frictional braking devices operatively coupled to the second axles, and one or more regenerative braking devices each operatively coupled to one of the first or second axles of the vehicle.
The vehicle braking system also has a brake bias associated therewith. For the purposes of this disclosure, brake bias relates to the amount of negative torque applied to one axle of the vehicle by one or more braking devices operatively coupled thereto compared to the amount of brake torque applied to another axle of the vehicle by one or more braking device operatively coupled thereto. During the operation of a vehicle, it may be desirable to adjust the brake bias in the braking system so that the negative axle torque is biased towards one axle or another to enhance the driving experience. For example, when a high performance vehicle having a front and a rear axle is entering a corner or turn of a race track, it may be desirable and/or beneficial to bias the negative axle torque toward the front axle to shift more of the weight of the vehicle to the front, thereby causing the vehicle to turn into the corner or turn. While in certain instances it may be desirable and/or beneficial to bias the negative axle torque toward one axle or another, in other instances, a more balanced torque configuration or arrangement may be desirable and/or beneficial. For example, when the performance vehicle in the example above exits or comes out of the corner or turn and once again operates in a straight line (e.g., along a straight away of the race track), it may be desirable and/or beneficial to have a more balanced brake bias configuration to enhance or optimize the acceleration of the vehicle. Accordingly, it may be desirable to adjust the brake bias such that the application of negative axle torque is more balanced between the front and rear axles of the vehicle.